Are smart phones essential at the parks?

[dave&di]

This is the best way to deal with it if you have phone from another country. Our youngest daughter used a table on the last trip to entertain herself while waiting in lines and it was more useful than my phone since it had a much larger screen and it was only connected to the world via the wifi. Frankly if you have a small tablet it might be a better option than taking a phone that you are just using on wifi.

So a iPad will do? That’s interesting, although my smallest iPad is very old and not in great condition

 

[dave&di]

I don't know what you all are talking about, we don't use our phones in the parks at all. That's family time, not phone time.

We book our initial FastPasses for as close to 9-10, 10-11, and 11-12 as possible. Then we eat lunch and return to the resort for a swim and a nap. While on the bus, we book a fourth FP for that evening's park.

On an 8 night/9 day trip, doing this gets you 27 pre-booked FPs, 8 same-day FPs, and 8 rope drops, for a total of 43 rides without any wait. Disney doesn't have 43 rides that accumulate significant lines. This is more than enough.

But you do have to still organise it all on MDE? Don’t you look on your phone for updates? Are you still doing it the old fashioned way by looking at information screens. I hate the thought of constantly checking a phone

 

[Jon81uk]

But you do have to still organise it all on MDE? Don’t you look on your phone for updates? Are you still doing it the old fashioned way by looking at information screens. I hate the thought of constantly checking a phone

You could enter the information into a spreadsheet and print it out, or write it down with pen and paper if you wish.

Yes if a ride breaksdown it is useful to get the email/notification update so you know not to attend for that fastpass, but for the initial reservations you can just assume they are going ahead and then find out as you approach the ride.

The 4th (5th, 6th,7th) passes can be booked on kiosks if you really don't want to use your own device. But if you have a smart phone it is a lot easier to book the next pass when in the queue for the previous one in my opinion. (ie after tapping in to redeem the 3rd fastpass, open the app and book the 4th in the short wait to board and then put the phone away again). You don't need it out constantly, just to make/change the reservations.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

But you do have to still organise it all on MDE? Don’t you look on your phone for updates? Are you still doing it the old fashioned way by looking at information screens. I hate the thought of constantly checking a phone

I mean we physically HAVE our phones, so if we get separated we can call each other or whatever, but we use Touring Plans so we print out a rough sketch of what our day looks like. The app sends you a notification if a ride breaks down and messes with your FPs or something like that.

 

[thomas998]

So a iPad will do? That’s interesting, although my smallest iPad is very old and not in great condition

My daughter was using an android tablet. I would try to find out if the MDE app works on your iPad, I know my old iPad is just a paper weight as it wasn't capable of the last operating system upgrade and my apps stopped working without the latest upgrade.

 

[DISR]

Depending on the time of year, a good weather app can be a real benefit...it is nice to check the weather radar now and then to anticipate storms or get an idea of how long they will last. In the past, we have flexed our restaurant time or indoor attraction visits to a period of time when we saw a storm coming.

 

[Parker in NYC]

Absolutely. What year is this?

 

[dave&di]

You could enter the information into a spreadsheet and print it out, or write it down with pen and paper if you wish.

Yes if a ride breaksdown it is useful to get the email/notification update so you know not to attend for that fastpass, but for the initial reservations you can just assume they are going ahead and then find out as you approach the ride.

The 4th (5th, 6th,7th) passes can be booked on kiosks if you really don't want to use your own device. But if you have a smart phone it is a lot easier to book the next pass when in the queue for the previous one in my opinion. (ie after tapping in to redeem the 3rd fastpass, open the app and book the 4th in the short wait to board and then put the phone away again). You don't need it out constantly, just to make/change the reservations.

We always had a printed itinerary with all the info! I’ve researched the kiosks, I’m glad to see there is another option! Thanks for your help

 

[dave&di]

I mean we physically HAVE our phones, so if we get separated we can call each other or whatever, but we use Touring Plans so we print out a rough sketch of what our day looks like. The app sends you a notification if a ride breaks down and messes with your FPs or something like that.

Sounds like a plan! Thanks

 

[dave&di]

Absolutely. What year is this?

It’ll be 2022! I know things will evolve anyway but trying to get on board early!

 

[Archie123]

Unfortunately yes we are now tied to our phones when we are on vacation.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I wouldn't go out on a limb and say that they are essential, but you are certainly putting yourself at a disadvantage to not have one. You can still enjoy it, but will spend a lot more time in lines unable to add fastpasses or see where the biggest lines are before you tread all the way to them. A smart phone is getting closer to be a necessity in everyday life so making the transition to them will make life generally easier as soon as you figure out how to use them to the fullest.

 

[unmitigated disaster]

You can also use a kindle for MDE; I did. Also for photos I use this device called a camera. I am not a cellphone person, I admit, - I have literally gone months without using mine - and don't have a clue why people need to know what everyone else is doing in live time, or let everyone know.

 

[Psalpha2016]

I thought his would be the case, do you know how this works from an English phone network? Expensive?

I would buy an unlocked basic smartphone and get a data sim card for it. (This is what I did for my week at Tokyo Disneyland). That way you don't have to worry about international charges.

 

[Djsfantasi]

When you are in the parks your best bet is to disable roaming data from the phone network and instead use Disney's WiFi. It is very usable, and will mean zero cost to you.

Except for getting a boarding pass. The Disney WiFi network gets bogged down while people are trying to get a boarding pass. I’ve been told that in that case, it’s better to turn off WiFi and use cell data.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

Another advantage to a smart phone: in the My Disney Experience app, you can book another Fast Pass after the original three have been used up.

 

[Ldno]

Yes, and yes, as I am sure you have seen, to have a good time in Disney you need a celular connected device, be tablet or phone. Plus not to mention like 2 battery packs/chargers. An iPhone will last me about half a day with videos/pictures nonstop. the two battery packs cover me for the rest of the entire day. On top of taking pictures you also need a celular device to keep up to changes on rides, fast passes, reservations and any information you might need like for example parade times Or firework Information. The app is kind of your personal concierge To an extent. Turn on notifications with the app so you can notices if a fastpass you have changes it’s status. Everytime I go it never fails for a ride to breakdown with a fastpass hour attached to it, and it’s always the tier 1 rides for me and if you are lucky you get that magical fastpass ticket that can help walk into any ride.

Anything arises with your trip you can always talk to a park concierge and they can hook up with unlimited fastpasses for your trip(when rise of the resistance broke down for 6 hours, they gave me like 5 fast passes for the rest of the day, went on every single ride afterwards

 

[Giss Neric]

Hello! I haven’t been on this site for several years! Our last WDW trip was 2013, we were meant to return in 2014 but life got in the way, since then it’s not been possible to return, we are hoping to return in 2022, we will need to do lots of saving to achieve 10 nights (flying from England).
So my question is... since our last visit it appears technology has taken over, with our past trips we never ever brought a mobile/cell phone with us! What will we need and what for? From doing a little bit of research it appears you even need a phone to order food!?!
I’m looking forward to being back on this site! Loved it back in the day! Diane

I commend you for not being taken over by technology.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Absolutely. What year is this?

Judging from the way people are acting I'd have to guess this is Germany 1938.

 

[Lilofan]

Unfortunately yes we are now tied to our phones when we are on vacation.

Don't forget to look up while walking.